Is a trailing arm the same as a wishbone?

No.

A wishbone is a wishbone shaped(!) arm which runs transversely to the car ie it has an inner and an outer end, with the inner end fixed to the car and able to pivot up and down, and the hub and wheel fitted to the outer end. This would normally be found on front suspension.

A trailing arm runs longitudinally, ie front to rear. One end of it would be fixed to the axle beam, and the other end carries the hub and wheel. This would normally be found on rear suspension.

HTH

Steve

No.

Although to confuse the issue you sometimes get wishbone shaped ones :-)

The message from "shazzbat" contains these words:

Go on - do deformed chicken - it's my favourite!

No not really.

It's a bit of a grey area.

A wishbone suspension generally has its main pivots in line with the wheels.

A trailing arm may also be a near identical wishbone design but with the main pivots at right angles to the wheels.

However, these pivots can be some way off either inline or right angles in most practical applications. Hence semi-trailing arms, etc.